Bills Pushing Legislation That Would Allow Concession Beer Sales To Begin At 11:00am

The Bills are "pushing a last-minute piece of legislation" to permit concession stands at Ralph Wilson Stadium "to begin selling beer at 11 a.m. on game days instead of noon as now permitted under law," according to Tom Precious of the BUFFALO NEWS. Assembly member Sean Ryan, who introduced the measure, said that earlier beer sales "would provide a 'more controlled environment' for beer consumption than might exist with tailgating traditions." He added, "Bills fans seem to have a taste for beer before noon on Sundays." Other NFL stadiums have "a similar approach to try to get fans to head inside." Ryan noted that the Sabres are "able to pull fans into the arena before many Bills fans might think of heading from the parking lot." A similar, "fourth-quarter-style push to move the sales to an hour earlier was attempted two years ago in the Legislature but failed." The legislative session is due to end June 19 (BUFFALO NEWS, 6/11). Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio said, “They’re going to drink beer out in the parking lot anyway. You may as well have them come in and charge way too much for the stuff that they can buy at the store a lot cheaper” (“PFT,” NBCSN, 6/11).

THIRSTY FOR MORE? In Buffalo, Tim Graham noted Pabst Blue Ribbon Owner C. Dean Metropoulos, who was a "runner-up" to Shahid Khan in the Jaguars sale three years ago, will "take a look at the Bills when the team's financial advisers produce their sales book." A spokesperson for Metropoulos said, "The Metropoulos family has a continued interest in acquiring an NFL franchise and expects to review any such opportunity." Forbes estimates that Metropoulos is worth $1.3B. The family's private equity group "partnered with another company to buy Hostess out of bankruptcy" for $410M last year (BUFFALONEWS.com, 6/11).